Giants draft high school pitcher

AMATEUR DRAFT

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Photo: Kurt Rogers, The Chronicle

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Cal's Brett Jackson dives for Colin Walsh's hit in the third inning as Cal plays Stanford on Saturday , May 10, 2008 in Stanford, Calif.Photo by Kurt Rogers / San Francisco Chronicle(CAPTION CORRECTS PREVIOUS VERSION OF CAPTION) less

Cal's Brett Jackson dives for Colin Walsh's hit in the third inning as Cal plays Stanford on Saturday , May 10, 2008 in Stanford, Calif.Photo by Kurt Rogers / San Francisco Chronicle(CAPTION CORRECTS PREVIOUS ... more

Photo: Kurt Rogers, The Chronicle

Giants draft high school pitcher

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Zack Wheeler vividly remembers the game Giants general manager Brian Sabean attended. It was March 24, and Wheeler's East Paulding High School (Georgia) was playing North Cobb High.

"Everyone was whispering to me in the dugout that he was there," Wheeler said. "That's when I hit 98. I boosted it up a couple of miles per hour for him real quick."

Wheeler collected a season-high 15 strikeouts in six innings, and Sabean walked away convinced. The right-hander's numbers (9-0, 0.54 ERA, 151 strikeouts, 772/3 innings) along with his "size, strength and athletic ability," in Sabean's words, prompted the Giants to select him sixth overall in Tuesday's draft.

Sabean said Wheeler was the first player he scouted, and it was a powerful first impression. John Barr, the Giants' point man in the draft, also was impressed with Wheeler since first seeing him last summer.

"When you're walking in a ballpark and you're the general manager of the team picking sixth, in the back of your mind, you have an idea what he should look like," Sabean said, "and he was every bit of what we wanted him to look like."

The A's, at No. 13, picked USC shortstop Grant Green, who hit .374 with a .435 on-base percentage, four homers and 32 RBIs in 54 games and shined in last summer's wood-bat Cape Cod League.

As expected, Stephen Strasburg - he of the 100-mph fastball and equally high-octane agent, Scott Boras - was taken first by the Nationals, and already it's speculated he'll wait for the Aug. 17 deadline to sign. He'll easily break Mark Prior's signing-bonus record of $10.5 million.

Then came the Giants, who knew Wheeler was committed to Kennesaw State but also knew he preferred to turn pro. Last year's No. 6 overall pick also was a high schooler, catcher Kyle Skipworth, who signed with the Marlins shortly after the draft for $2.3 million.

Agent B.B. Abbott, who's representing Wheeler, hinted he could be seeking more but added, "This is his dream, and he'll be able to live it in a great town with a team with great history. I think he was the best player (available), and I think the Giants know that. We'll get this kid signed, and that's the bottom line."

Time will tell if Wheeler (6-foot-4 1/2 and 185 pounds) lives up to the likes of other high school-drafted pitchers, including Matt Cain (2002) and Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson (2007), but Sabean said, "This kid was very reminiscent of those types of picks. He's an imposing kid at this level of competition."

With their second pick (55th overall), the Giants took Alderson's old catcher at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Thomas Joseph, who hit .494 with 15 homers and 36 RBIs in 37 games. Their final pick of the day (86th) was third baseman Chris Dominguez of Louisville, who hit .345 with 25 homers and 82 RBIs in 64 games.

The A's, who forfeited their second-round pick by signing free-agent Orlando Cabrera, also used their third-round pick on a Louisville player: lefty Justin Marks, who was 11-3 with a 3.77 ERA and named the top pitcher in the Big East.

The A's had said they wouldn't necessarily draft based on need at the big-league level, but Green might fill a future need, considering shortstops Cabrera and Bobby Crosby can be free agents after this season. A's director of scouting Eric Kubota said Green reminds him of Hall of Famer Robin Yount because he's tall, rangy and fast.

"I'm extremely happy. Oakland is a great organization, and there's a USC tradition with Mark McGwire," Green said.

Two Bay Area players were drafted in the first round, Stanford closer Drew Storen by the Nationals (10th) and Cal outfielder Brett Jackson by the Cubs (31st).

"I went into it with an open mind because I knew if I got picked in the 48th round, then I would still be happy," Storen said. "It was beyond what I expected and still is. I'm still riding it out right now. I've never been happier, that's for sure."

Bay Area selections

Selections of the Giants and A's and from Bay Area high schools and universities in Tuesday's amateur baseball draft:

GIANTS

Rd.

Pick

Player

Pos.

School

1

6

Zack Wheeler

P

East Paulding HS (Ga.)

2

55

Thomas Joseph

C

Horizon HS (Ariz.)

3

86

Christopher Dominguez

3B

Louisville

A'S

Rd.

Pick

Player

Pos.

School

1

13

Grant Green

SS

USC

3

92

Justin Marks

P

Louisville

LOCAL SCHOOLS

Rd.

Pick

Player

Pos.

School

Team

1

10

Drew Storen

P

Stanford

Nationals

1

31

Brett Jackson

OF

Cal

Cubs

2

50

Jeff Kobernus

2B

Cal

Nationals

2

56

Blake Smith

P/OF

Cal

Dodgers

2

78

Kenny Diekroeger

SS

Menlo HS

Rays

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